I am completely taken aback by these newfound allergies. I just found out I'm allergic to black pepper and shellfish. Xmas eve I ate clams marinara and my mouth, tongue, and gums swelled for 9 days. I had blisters too! I never had food allergies as a child and am shaken to think that food I ate and enjoyed all my life is now poison. How in the world do you avoid black pepper! I asked my allergist and he said I have to avoid it forever, it's not something I can take out and put back in gradually. I just don't know what to eat anymore. No more prepared food from jars for anything. How in the world will I ever go out to dinner again or eat at a friends house? My allergy test also revealed I'm allergic to every tree and weed and mold they tested for. I have read online that spice allergies are rare and can be caused from sever allergies to trees and pollen and such.

Welcome... Knowledge and time both helped our family when dealing with the food allergies.

For eating at friends, you either have to make sure they really get it or bring your own food. In my experience, friends often try a lot harder than family... If you can eat fruits and vegetables that helps a lot. You will learn which foods typically have pepper and avoid them. e.g., my daughter is allergic to celery which is often in soups, stuffing mixes etc. She is also allergic to tree nuts so desserts are the biggest culprit.

The line "No label, no thank you." will be repeated often and honestly, we trust few people to read the label since others simply don't remember our list of allergies. You learn to take snack packs with you since you may not be able to get safe food or you just don't feel like asking many questions. Pepper is also more difficult since it would likely be labelled as "spices" which means calling companies to find out the specific spices. I find that asking "does it have pepper?" will get a better response than asking for the list of spices.

First step we did with the nut allergies was to remove everything from our cupboards. If it had "May contain tree nuts" we donated it. If it didn't have "May contain" warning then we called the company to check if they labelled for May Contains (it is not mandatory). The food that was left was returned to the cupboard. I used to try new foods all the time but now we try new recipes with a smaller number of foods

_________________me: allergic to crustaceans plus environmental
teenager: allergic to hazelnuts, some other foods and environmental

Welcome and sorry to hear about your experience. Pepper does sound like a difficult one to avoid in packaged foods, when it's not one of the top allergens and so often things like labelled 'spices'.

When I found out about my children's allergies, we found suitable recipes and started making a lot of things from scratch - cakes, cookies, bread, muffins, etc, plus the majority of our meals.

It's really hard at first, but it does get easier with time, when trying to figure out what you can and cannot eat. I can imagine it would be very difficult with adult onset allergies since you used to be able to eat these foods and now cannot. There are some adult onset folks on this forum, so hopefully you can get some help and support on here.

Regarding the cross reaction with tree pollens, I personally don't know anything about this, but if your current allergist can't provide info, perhaps you can research online and/or get referred to another allergist in the area who might be more experienced? Also in the Allergic Living magazine, there is an 'ask the expert' section where you can send in a question that they will answer.

Its very hard to suddenly be allergic to 'ordinary' things. Doubly so if it's not covered by the labeling laws? do you know if its just black pepper? I ask because for home cooking there are some other things I might use to kick it up a notch. I defer to the other ladies/gents on the site when it comes to taking allergies on the road... Im not quite brave enough.
hugs.

As it turns out bell peppers and other pepper forms were also included in my new allergies so I am kinda steering clear of anything with pepper in the name. They tested me for jalapeños and that came back negative.

I also came back with a mild reaction to tomatoes but the doctor said that if I avoided it for a while I may be able to work it back into my diet. I grow tomatoes and live off them during the summer so this very heartbreaking. I lived on salsa prior to this so I'm having a hard time finding the desire to eat anything. I ordered some Grains of Paradise which mimics pepper but is in the ginger family (also tested negative). I'm just at a loss as what to start eating again. I so tired of eating bland food.

My allergist said to take a couple grains of pepper and eat them to get a baseline of how strong the allergy is (he was sure it wouldnt cause ana. shock). Well I counted out 5 grains and nibbled. One big swollen lip later.... and that was while I was still on Prednisone for the initial swelling. Needless to say I have advoided peppers in all forms since. I haven't tried potatoes but I think I will tonight. I have had hash browns with no I'll effects. I really don't want to cross the nightshade family off my list. I'm Irish, I can't loose potatoes!

On a side note, I really enjoy wine. Would the pepper notes in wine effect me or do you guys think that bc it's alcohol it won't really matter. I love the dry peppery wines.

Hi Meg,
It's the protein in the food (yes, plants have proteins) that causes the cascade reaction. Alcohol does not break this down so it will not make something that contains your allergen safe. Similarly, hand sanitizers do nothing to prevent a reaction as they render germs and viruses inert but do not actually remope them.

Meg I can totally relate.
Two years ago at the age of 36 I became ana to an unknown food. Allergy testing revealed nothing. I was told it was possibly a preservative or spice. I still do not know what it is that I am allergic to. My allergy is so bad that I cannot even enter Sobey's Supermarket as whatever I am allergic to is in their in-store prepared foods. There are also numerous fast-food places that I cannot eat from. My gp suggested taking an allergy medication everyday. I have chosen not do this as I won't know if I am allergic to something new that I eat. So I eat everything and if I have a reaction I just add that item to my do not eat list. I may never know what I am allergic to. I now carry three EPI-Pens with me everywhere I go.

Hi Meg, My allergies are adult-onset too: shellfish, peanut and soy. It is an adjustment, but still way better to know and be able to avoid.

One thing I'd recommend: speak to your allergist about whether you're a candidate for immunotherapy for the enviro allergens. I used to be off the charts for the whole list and since having the shots, most of those allergies are much better.

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